1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, and particularly to a display technique in an information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
There exists a technique of displaying an image indicating a finishing state of a printed matter (a print preview technique) (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-123557). Specifically, in certain application software (simply referred to as an application as well) (e.g., document creation software, spreadsheet software, a web browser, and the like), when a print instruction is given, printer driver software (referred to as a printer driver as well) is activated. In response to further operation or the like, a print preview application (display application) is called from the printer driver, to be activated, and a print preview is displayed in the print preview application.
Moreover, a display screen (a print preview screen) of the above-described print preview application can accept a new print preview instruction while remaining displayed on a display unit of a computer, based on the print preview instruction without being closed. In the print preview screen remaining activated, a print preview in response to the new print preview instruction is displayed.
For example, the print preview application (particularly, the print preview screen thereof) displaying the print preview, based on the print instruction from the document creation software can display a new print preview, based on a new print preview instruction from another application software (a web browser or the like). Displaying the new print preview using the print preview application remaining activated can shorten time required for displaying the print preview from the print preview instruction, as compared with a case where the print preview application is reactivated. Mutually giving and receiving of data (including the print instruction and the like) between various applications executed as different processes (e.g., between the printer driver and the print preview application) are performed using interprocess communication technology.
Moreover, in a specific application (e.g., a web browser), a high security mode (e.g., a “protected mode” or the like employed in a Windows OS such as Windows Vista or later) that prevents an illegal access from outside can be set. When the high security mode is set in the web browser, authority is largely limited in order to prevent attack from outside. Moreover, a process activated from the web browser also operates in the high security mode, and authority of the process is also largely limited.
If a specific security mode (a “protected mode” or the like) and another security mode (a “normal mode” or the like) coexist in the above-described print preview technology, the following problem may occur.
For example, when a certain application (document creation software or the like) is executed in the normal mode (an unprotected mode), a print preview application is activated through a printer driver in response to a preview instruction from the application, and a print preview screen is displayed. Subsequently, a print preview instruction from a web browser may be given to the print preview application in a state where the print preview is displayed.
In this situation, when the web browser is activated in the “protected mode”, and the printer driver is activated from the web browser, the printer driver activated from the web browser takes over the security mode (the “protected mode”) of the web browser and operates in the “protected mode”. In response to the print preview instruction from an operator, the printer driver tries to transmit, to the print preview application already activated (running), a print preview instruction to display a print preview regarding the browser.
However, when the running print preview application operates in the normal security mode (the unprotected mode), inconsistency is caused between the security mode of the running print preview application (the unprotected mode) and the security mode of the printer driver based on the new print preview instruction (the protected mode). Thus, there arises a problem that the print preview application cannot normally execute the new operation instruction (the print preview instruction) from the printer driver. Although displaying the abnormal state in an error message enables an occurrence of the abnormal state to be notified to the operator, there is also a problem that the operator is requested to perform another activation operation of the print preview application.